Breakdown of goma wo kaketa moyasi ha, mitame hodo azi ga tuyoku nai node, kodomo de mo tabeyasui desu.
Questions & Answers about goma wo kaketa moyasi ha, mitame hodo azi ga tuyoku nai node, kodomo de mo tabeyasui desu.
How should I break this sentence into parts?
A natural breakdown is:
- ごまをかけたもやしは = as for bean sprouts with sesame on them
- 見た目ほど味が強くないので = because the flavor is not as strong as the appearance suggests
- 子供でも食べやすいです = even children can eat it easily / it is easy even for children to eat
So the whole sentence is structured like:
- Topic: the sesame-topped bean sprouts
- Reason: their taste is not as strong as they look
- Result: so they are easy for even children to eat
What does ごまをかけた mean exactly?
ごま means sesame.
かけた is the past/plain form of かける, which here means to sprinkle on or to put over.
So:
- ごまをかけたもやし = bean sprouts that sesame was sprinkled on
- More natural English: bean sprouts with sesame on them or sesame-topped bean sprouts
Even though かけた is a past form, when it modifies a noun like this, it often just describes a completed action related to that noun:
- ごまをかけたもやし = the bean sprouts that have had sesame put on them
Why is かけた placed before もやし?
In Japanese, a verb in plain form can directly modify a noun.
So:
- ごまをかけた = sprinkled with sesame
- もやし = bean sprouts
Put together:
- ごまをかけたもやし = bean sprouts that have sesame sprinkled on them
This is very common in Japanese:
- 昨日買った本 = the book I bought yesterday
- よく見る店 = the store I often see
- 母が作った料理 = the food my mother made
So かけた is not ending the sentence here; it is describing もやし.
Why is the particle を used in ごまをかけた?
The particle を marks ごま as the thing being put or sprinkled.
With かける, Japanese often marks the thing being applied with を:
- ソースをかける = put sauce on
- しょうゆをかける = pour soy sauce on
- ごまをかける = sprinkle sesame on
So ごまをかけたもやし literally means something like:
- bean sprouts on which sesame was put
The surface being sprinkled on—here, the bean sprouts—does not need to be stated separately because it is the noun being modified.
What does 見た目ほど〜ない mean?
This is an important grammar pattern:
- Aほど Bない = B is not as ... as A
Here:
- 見た目 = appearance / how it looks
- 見た目ほど味が強くない = the taste is not as strong as its appearance
A more natural English translation is:
- it doesn't taste as strong as it looks
- its flavor isn't as strong as its appearance suggests
So ほど sets up the standard of comparison, and ない completes the pattern.
Examples of the same pattern:
- 思ったほど難しくない = It's not as difficult as I thought
- 見た目ほど辛くない = It's not as spicy as it looks
Why does it say 味が強くない and not 味が強いない?
Because 強い is an i-adjective, and i-adjectives make negatives by changing -い to -くない.
So:
- 強い = strong
- 強くない = not strong
This is the normal conjugation:
- 高い → 高くない
- 寒い → 寒くない
- 強い → 強くない
So 味が強くない means the flavor is not strong.
Why is the particle が used in 味が強くない instead of は?
Here, 味が強くない describes taste as the specific thing that is not strong.
Using が is very natural when identifying what has a certain quality:
- 味が強い = the flavor is strong
- 匂いが強い = the smell is strong
- 色がきれいだ = the color is pretty
In this sentence, the main topic is already marked by は:
- ごまをかけたもやしは = as for the sesame-topped bean sprouts
Then within that topic, 味が強くない says something specific about their taste.
So the structure is basically:
- As for the bean sprouts, the taste is not strong...
What nuance does ので add here? Why not just use から?
Both ので and から can mean because, but ので often sounds a little softer, more explanatory, and less direct.
Here:
- 見た目ほど味が強くないので、子供でも食べやすいです
- Because the flavor is not as strong as it looks, even children can eat it easily
Using ので fits well because the sentence is calmly giving a reason or explanation.
Very roughly:
- から = more direct, more conversational, sometimes more subjective
- ので = softer, more explanatory, often used in descriptions
Both could work in many contexts, but ので sounds natural here.
What does 子供でも mean? Is this the particle で plus も?
Yes, you can think of it as で + も, but together here it functions like even for children / even children.
So:
- 子供でも食べやすい = easy even for children to eat
- or even children can eat it easily
The idea is that children are being used as an example of people who might have trouble with strong flavors. The sentence says that this dish is mild enough that even children can handle it.
This でも often adds the nuance of even:
- 子供でも分かる = Even a child can understand it
- 私でもできる = Even I can do it
So here it emphasizes that the food is quite approachable.
What does 食べやすい mean, and how is it formed?
食べやすい comes from:
- 食べる = to eat
- verb stem 食べ-
- やすい = easy to do
So:
- 食べやすい = easy to eat
This pattern is very common:
- 読みやすい = easy to read
- 分かりやすい = easy to understand
- 使いやすい = easy to use
It describes something from the point of view of how easy an action is.
So 子供でも食べやすいです means:
- it is easy even for children to eat
- even children can eat it without difficulty
Why does the sentence end with 食べやすいです? Can an adjective be followed by です?
Yes. 食べやすい behaves like an i-adjective, and adding です makes it polite.
So:
- 食べやすい = plain
- 食べやすいです = polite
This is very common:
- おいしい → おいしいです
- 難しい → 難しいです
- 食べやすい → 食べやすいです
So the sentence ends politely without changing the basic meaning.
Is 見た目ほど味が強くない literally saying the appearance itself is strong?
Not exactly. Japanese often leaves some meaning implied if it is clear from context.
Literally, it says:
- the taste is not strong to the extent of the appearance
But in natural English, what it means is:
- it doesn't taste as strong as it looks
- its flavor isn't as intense as its appearance would make you expect
So 見た目 is being used as the basis for comparison: the food may look intense, heavy, spicy, or strong-flavored, but the actual taste is milder.
Could 子供でも食べやすい mean children also find it easy to eat, rather than even children?
In some contexts, でも can feel like also, but here even children is the more natural interpretation.
Why?
Because the sentence gives a reason:
- the flavor is not very strong
- therefore
- even children can eat it easily
That logic strongly suggests the emphatic even nuance. The sentence is pointing out that the food is mild and approachable enough for a group that might be sensitive to strong tastes.
So in this sentence, even children is the best understanding.
How natural is 味が強い? Does it just mean spicy?
味が強い means the flavor is strong/intense. It does not only mean spicy.
It can refer to a taste that is:
- bold
- rich
- intense
- pungent
- overpowering
Depending on context, it could involve strong seasoning, strong aroma, bitterness, sharpness, or other noticeable flavor qualities.
So here:
- 見た目ほど味が強くない does not necessarily mean not as spicy as it looks
- it more generally means not as intense in flavor as it looks
What is the role of は in もやしは?
は marks the topic of the sentence.
So:
- ごまをかけたもやしは = as for the bean sprouts with sesame on them
Everything after that gives information about that topic:
- they do not taste as strong as they look
- so they are easy for even children to eat
This is a very common Japanese structure:
- X は、Y です
- As for X, it is Y
Here it is just expanded into a longer sentence.
Would this sentence still work without the spaces?
Yes. In normal Japanese writing, you would usually write it without spaces:
ごまをかけたもやしは、見た目ほど味が強くないので、子供でも食べやすいです。
The spaces in learning materials are often added just to make the sentence easier to read. They are not normally used in standard Japanese writing.
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